Syria Urgent Medical Evacuation

30 November 2017, New York, USA | South-South News — UN Special Advisor for Syria Jan Egeland said world powers should urgently help to create the conditions for the safe evacuation of 500 people, including 167 children, from the besieged Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva today, Egeland said, “Men with power are sitting with lists of children that are in urgent need of being evacuated, if not they will, many of them, die; and we still do not have the green light.” He expressed his conviction that the evacuations are possible with the Government’s approval despite insecurity adding that calm could then be negotiated with both sides.

Egeland said that Russia and Iran, as well as the United States and France, had pledged to help during this week’s humanitarian taskforce meeting for Syria.

Asked about the support of the Security Council for the humanitarian activities in Eastern Ghouta, Egeland replied that he " would rate the success of the Security Council and the great powers as very low in terms of helping us to reach women, children, wounded, the most vulnerable in this armed conflict. They have not succeeded. The few times we have been able to get through, it has been because there has been real push from external actors. Too often, we have not seen that.”

The humanitarian advisor described Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus, as the being the "eye of the hurricane" in this conflict.